Carbon adsorbents for natural gas storage

Composite carbons were produced by combining, and subsequently pyrolysing, polyvinylidene copolymer latexes and AX-21 carbon. These carbons were produced in a monolithic form, enabling them to fit compactly into a given storage volume. The composites demonstrated that the latex polymer could enter the undesirable large voids and interparticle spaces in the superactivated carbon and remain there after pyrolysis, thus eliminating some of the wasted space which is always problematic when attempting to maximize gas storage on a volume basis. The best composites produced contained approximately 60% superactive carbon and 40% polymer carbon. The polymer carbon from Saran latex was considered the best binder. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.